AIRLINE SAFETY AND SECURITY: CONTRIBUTORY ACCOUNTABILITY OF DGCA?
AUTHOR – PRASUN BALLABHA, STUDENT AT CHRIST DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY
BEST CITATION – PRASUN BALLABHA, AIRLINE SAFETY AND SECURITY: CONTRIBUTORY ACCOUNTABILITY OF DGCA?, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 4 (1) OF 2024, PG. 463-477, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
The Indian aviation industry is expanding quickly. Between April and November 2018, the total number of passengers travelling to, from, and within India increased by over 15% compared to about 6% globally. With 187 million passengers travelling to, from, and within India in FY 2017–18, India has risen to the seventh-largest aviation market in the world. By 2022, it’s anticipated to grow to the third-largest.
An expanding economy, rising earnings, fierce airline rivalry, and a favourable policy environment are all contributing to this increase. The government’s intention to drastically alter the growth trajectory of the sector was made clear by the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP 2016). NCAP’s flagship program – Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS or UDAN) is taking flying to the masses by offering subsidised fares as low as USD 35 for a one hour flight.
DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), a statutory body whose primary responsibility is to enforce all aviation regulations and monitor the issuance of licenses to various types of pilots in India, is responsible for monitoring safety patterns in India. BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security), the civil aviation regulatory body responsible for planning, implementation, security checks, training, etc., examines the security features of every airport in India. It is led by the Director General of the Directorate General for Civil Aviation Security (DG BCAS), which is the competent authority responsible for the establishment, regulation and administration of the National Civil Aviation Security Program and for the implementation of Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention . congress ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), Security: Protecting Civil Aviation from Unlawful Interference. BCAS ensures that aviation security standards are in compliance with national and international aviation security obligations/agreements to which India is a signatory. All agencies and players in the aviation sector across India have framed and implemented a number of laws and rules: (i) The Aircraft Act, 1934 and the Aircraft Rules, 1937 both have the power to regulate production and ownership. , use, operation, sale, import and export of aircraft. They define parameters for airworthiness determination, aircraft maintenance, flight and safety, aircraft registration and survey. ii) Airports Authorities of India Act, 1994 – Responsible for the development, financing, operation and maintenance of all airports in the State of India. (iii) Aircraft (Security) Rules 2011 – deals with aviation security and airport and aircraft security regulations. Violation of acts/rules may result in fines or imprisonment. Local state police officers deal with crimes that usually fall under state law.
KEYWORDS:- Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Civil aviation policy, Safety audits, Safety culture in airlines, Aviation accidents and investigations, Counter-terrorism measures in aviation